What's new

Surveying the Topography

Conquistador

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
1,055
In fact, I am going to work very hard in the next several days to raise my state, fitness levels, and everything else as much as I can in such a short time, to prepare for this. Sex and love are both potent motivators, aren’t they?
Or maybe not.

But either way the past few days have been great!

I’m intentionally focusing on solid groundwork but even so I got several important tasks done.

Overall I’m still not feeling like myself but I’m getting there.

I had a brilliant idea about next semester though. For a long time I’ve wanted to take a specific class at another community college 45+ min away. Now that I don’t have full-time commitments, I should be able to take it regardless of anything else.

However, there is one difficulty. The course isn’t publicly listed. I understand it is being offered however because 1) I found a recent mention on RateMyProfessors and 2) it’s required for a degree program there. If so, the class size will be very small. Probably for the best.

I can’t disclose what the class is because it’s identifying af. But it is the single most useful non-PE course one could take to gain macho points. And it, even in the 21st century, unlocks a lot of doors.
 
Last edited:

Conquistador

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
1,055
I most likely will not be reaching out to that older girl to finalize anything. I feel it wouldn’t be helpful in the long run. She’s probably not what I’m looking for.
Instead, I’m gonna continue forging ahead and, when I’m ready (which I now have a definite date on), will ask out one or more other girls.

Today I began tackling the final bottleneck. Two weeks, probably less.

Then I took a bike trip all the way to the mountains. It was exhausting, but worth it in more ways than one. On the way back, I discovered the meaning of “suburban hell”. From a car you really can’t tell how awful it is as a pedestrian (or a daygamer). I did see a fair number of other cyclists actually.

Summer has come.
 

Conquistador

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
1,055
Finally!
I’ve cleared all the major bottlenecks.
Now it’s a matter of how much positive stress I can handle sustainably.

There’s a lot to accomplish in the next two months. The modest initial goals I’ve set are both doable and extensible.

Most relevant to this forum, I am going to ask out one or more girls. Might not be this week because there are some major tasks in front of me. But soon.

Something else happened. my parents and sister know pretty well, a very sweet and intelligent young lady whom I had crushed on a very long time ago, got engaged. I didn’t go to the party because I am increasingly on a diverging trajectory from such people. And also, I did not want to have to be around an innocently happy couple such as they reportedly are. I still have to figure out my place in the world, and I think true love is far in the future for me.
There were a couple of other reasons why I didn’t show. At the moment, I no longer have a full-size SC of any kind. Apart from college (to which I am not ready to return), I feel relatively most at home probably in the orbit of my best bro’s clan. Certainly I am not emotionally connected to my biological family/housemates. They increasingly tend to screen me out of conversations around the table, have casually said some unusually unpleasant things in the past few weeks (such as the incident I think I journaled above where three of them told me I was not an expert, in a case where I demonstrably knew what I was talking about) and also my mother has proclaimed the apartment to be both a No American Politics Zone and PG-13 rated.

Anyway, I’m more optimistic than in a while. I feel good, if low-energy. I have clear, detailed road maps to all my short-to-medium-term goals, for the first time in a while. I have tools I didn’t have before. And most importantly, the recent slump ended up further improving my capacity for certain very important things.

As I said, I’ll keep using this journal for self improvement stuff but once I’m infield again I’ll most likely change my nick and start a new one.
 

Conquistador

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
1,055
Just now I had a deep insight about edginess and “bad boys”. I’m still figuring out how to apply it, but in any case I was planning to improve my wardrobe soon.
 

Conquistador

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
1,055
I recently started spending a bit of time gaming with ordinary, perhaps even mediocre, white males from other parts of the country. It was eye-opening.

My biggest takeaway is that the coastal, urban, professional elite-oriented parts of the country where I was raised are much more uptight about how you communicate and such things. It was like constant heuristic yellow lights going off listening to some of these dudes, and I suspect a lot of my fellow Californians would look down on them.

In other areas, gradual progress continues.
 

Conquistador

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
1,055
At last, I am dealing with the final obstacle: settling accounts with certain clients.

Put together, they owe me enough so that, after I’ve set aside a permanent emergency fund and a substantial amount to invest responsibly, I should have 3-4k or more to spend fairly freely.

After that, I will have to do a lot of thinking about the most efficient way to invest that in myself.
 

Conquistador

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
1,055
Just caught a lucky break! Someone invited me to work with them for a few weeks as their regular specialist is unavailable.
This is a foot in the door to expand my clientele, but I should be more proactive about it.
 

Conquistador

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
1,055
Things are happening more rapidly, but I’m low on sleep and I need to prioritize that.
I’m nowhere near moving out, but logistics notwithstanding I feel nearly ready to spend a lot more time infield. See my other journal about that.
 

Conquistador

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
1,055
This week I’ve made a lot of progress breaking out of the tar pit. I will spend as much of the weekend as possible sleeping in order to recover my strength.
 

Conquistador

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
1,055
I’ve almost finished restoring my material situation to its previous solidity (with improvements) but I now have to confront the fact that I myself haven’t fully healed in certain ways.
While I’m in many ways more attractive than ever, I’m still lethargic i.e. mildly depressed. While I need to rectify this in order to make major advances, any change needs to be gradual because the most recent wave of changes has made me more efficient and more socially calibrated, among other things, and those gains are more important statically speaking than energy levels.

I also am feeling a new pull for a relationship, both consciously and subconsciously, not a physical need or an emotional gap but simply the existential incompleteness and meaninglessness of not having a partner.
So while I would like to explore with side chicks, it’s not my first priority.
 

Conquistador

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
1,055
A lot of colleges are starting today. This is kind of a depressing thought, as I won’t be joining in.
Furthermore, my plans to take a super-cool hands-on class at a different CC fell through because they don’t have anyone to teach it for now. Perhaps next semester…

The reality is, I very much need to spend the next few months achieving near-total independence and breaking out of the cycle of dependence and stagnation. I’m within striking distance of moving out, but a lot remains to be done.

BUT! If I’m not on track to take at least courses next spring, I’m completely screwed. In order to do that, working backward, I need to secure additional income streams by early November for a smooth, stress-free transition. Ideally much earlier.

The other alternative is to apply for a sophomore-level transfer somewhere out of state. I should at least explore the possibilities, but I’m not convinced it’s a workable idea.
 

Conquistador

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
1,055
Last night, I consciously accepted that there is a fairly clear hierarchy of goals leading to success both material and sociosexual, and the next few milestones on those paths are the same: a direct push toward full financial independence.

I think it can be done by expanding my current businesses without working a conventional job (which is key as I’ve been having difficulties keeping a set sleep/wake schedule, issues which I expect to end in perhaps a month at most).

However, a friend alerted me that it may be possible to get an entry-level white-collar one anyway on sweetheart terms from a certain local benefactor of his. Of course I would be required to perform the duties, but I’m sure given sufficient motivation I could push myself for long enough to land on my feet in a new home.

The clincher was this morning, when my mother began lecturing me in unacceptable terms about vatious things. If this was anyone but my mother, whom I ought to do my best to respect, I would have gotten in their face and chewed them out methodically and thoroughly for butting into my personal stuff like this. Instead I merely explained to her that she was incorrect on almost every point, and asked her to not be so invasive if she wanted my continued cooperation.

I can never fully succeed in anything without being independent of my parents in every way. So I am committed to doing my utmost to ensure this happens sooner rather than later.

I have some ideas on where to go from here, but at the moment I need to finalize a few more things.

The main thing is that significant progress is happening. More will follow.
 

Conquistador

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
1,055
Today was another significant milestone, this one more internal.

I can clearly see, reflected in today’s fairly quotidian events, how much more mature I am now than I was in my late teens.
 

Conquistador

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
1,055
Tomorrow I’m going to begin systematically cutting until I’m satisfied. Most of the exercise will just be Long Slow Distance bike rides, while I would like to be at just 1600 or so calories 5-6 days a week if that feels sustainable. The main thing is to consume plenty of fruits and vegetables so that I don’t lack minerals; I’ve had potassium shortages in the past when I tried stuff like this.

If I could sustain that pace, I’d be dropping about 2 pounds a week, which is intense but not unhealthy.

Time will tell if I can muster the discipline to do so.
 

Conquistador

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
1,055
The calorie restrictions became untenable immediately. First due to injuries and second due to my not realizing that I needed to eat at more frequent intervals if each meal is smaller, to keep blood sugar levels stable.

I’m gonna try again starting maybe Monday or Tuesday. Or possibly push it to the end of the month so I can sit down and plan it out better.
 

Conquistador

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
1,055
Aaaaaand the girl from before got back to me. She told me to pick a time tomorrow, which I did. She confirmed.

The funny thing is that today just happens to be extremely auspicious according to my personal superstitions. In fact, if you had asked me months ago to guess the day I’d be writing this, I’d have easily picked this one.

In any event, despite feeling very little actual excitement (it’s been two long years since I started this journal and in that time I’ve gone through a helluva lot) I’m sufficiently motivated to draw up a foolproof and buffered schedule for some errands, such as the clothing purchases, that I’d like to run tomorrow morning.

Wish me luck.
 

Conquistador

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
1,055
Tonight was a watershed moment, but not the way I was expecting.
I went to the party—my first ”real” college party—as planned. A lot happened before, during, and after, which I’ll outline after having slept.
Just as importantly, after I got us out of there, I had an hours-long convo with my peer-mentor bro in which a lot came out and I realized some pretty major things. We’ll see where I take those realizations.

In the meantime, the series of adventures I had gave me a lot to chew on. And of course tonight was only the beginning.

Oh yeah, and fwiw my streak continues. None of the usual side effects, which is a really good sign.
 

Conquistador

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
1,055
It looks like I might be about to have a showdown with my parents – I’m not entirely sure over what. I suspect I know what they want to confront me over, but I’m not sure.
Either way, I’m hoping it will shake up my life for the better.
 
a good date brings a smile to your lips... and hers

Conquistador

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
1,055
I had an epiphany about free will and motivation and stuff. I’m going to act on it as soon as I can achieve some level of active control over my physicality (it’s been a grueling week and a half).
 

Conquistador

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
Joined
Sep 2, 2022
Messages
1,055
It looks like I might be about to have a showdown with my parents – I’m not entirely sure over what. I suspect I know what they want to confront me over, but I’m not sure.
Either way, I’m hoping it will shake up my life for the better.
It wasn’t at all what I was expecting.

It did, however, help me realize that I have been oppressed by the “benevolent” dictatorship of my parents ever since I matured enough to want to act independently of them, which they thoroughly (albeit mot necessary intentionally) stifled.

Just as an example, when my father went bankrupt without telling me and then “borrowed” my savings to keep going until the next paycheck, my preteen psyche was intensely affected. When I rather maturely requested, as his creditor, that he take drastic austerity measures to resolve the crunch, he did not react positively and told me (calmly not vengefully) that certain “mandatory” spending on me would be the first to go (instead of sharing the burden equally among his children). The irony there is that the biggest expense, parochial school, had negative effects on my brother’s social life and caused him to denounce all spirituality as “imaginary”…not exactly money well spent…whereas most of my friends now are the guys I hung with in middle and/or high school.

Anyway, my continuing inability to throw them out of my life (ideally I’d walk out brazenly, cut all contact, and show up triumphantly one day a decade later with a gorgeous wife and a couple adorable kids, in true chad style) is horribly and constantly painful.

This relative lack of agency has been way more destructive and more importantly traumatic than I had previously been conscious of.

So at a time of my choosing, I want to go for an unannounced hard exit to my own place, if necessary with the intermediate step of staging from my bro’s guest suite (currently occupied for a few weeks by a relative of his). Ideally once I leave no contact beyond that necessary to wind up my affairs and remove every bit of my stuff from their place.

The income stream situation requires attention. I could probably expand my current business but not necessarily enough to live on. Alternatively I could almost certainly get a quite decent 9-to-5 job on sweetheart terms through mutual contacts, which I would snap up immediately if I thought I was ready to handle that kind of consistency (so I’d better start working in that direction).

The good news is:
I had an epiphany about free will and motivation and stuff. I’m going to act on it as soon as I can achieve some level of active control over my physicality (it’s been a grueling week and a half).
Somehow I overcame virtually all mental blocks I had to making rapid progress.
However, it came too late to prevent a temporary collapse of my rhythms and stuff. I’m feeling more negative than I have in ages, while I’ve been making do on 5-hour daytime siestas and all-nighters with screens because they’re my only consistently available refuge from my relatives. Naturally, I can barely function.

I expect I’ll be back to normal in a week or two at most, at which time I’ll proceed to make up for months of languor. Also, the biggest obstacle to building a new social circle at college has been that I haven’t been able to spend much time with people. When I’m not running smoothly I pretty much don’t want to be around people, but when I am I feel more extraverted than the turmoil of the last several years had really allowed me to be.

Yet despite all this, I managed to accomplish a number of important tasks I had been procrastinating about.

I also am looking forward to getting a permit, which I still haven’t scheduled (if I’m not a zombie when I wake up this afternoon I’ll do it once and for all). I’m hoping it will lead to a sea change in my life as big as getting contacts was.
 
Top